Works-in-Progress Lesion Management Tools on PACS Workstation

Carestream Health showcased innovative works-in-progress lesion management 3D tools on its CARESTREAM Vue PACS workstation at the annual “Workstation Face-Off,” which is part of the annual International Symposium on Multidetector-Row CT. The 2012 event was held on Monday, June 18, in San Francisco.

The new lesion management application enables radiologists to automatically measure a lesion and compare it to previous findings in an MR or CT scan. Each result can be bookmarked and can include comments and data for easy access. This comprehensive data comparison method is ideal for oncology exams and provides localization, measurements, follow-up and comparison of findings that can help eliminate viewer variation and enhance accuracy.
“Our new lesion management application is designed to significantly enhance assessments of oncology patients by automating access to specific measurements from previous exams,” said Cristine Kao, Carestream’s Global Marketing Manager, Healthcare Information Solutions.“In addition to facilitating a faster diagnosis, it can also improve communication and collaboration between radiologists and clinicians.”

The Face-Off is hosted by the International Society of Computed Tomography (ISCT) and requires radiologists to process and interpret several complex computed tomography (CT) imaging studies. This year each vendor was asked to present oncology follow-up, brain CTA\perfusion, vascular and functional cardiac cases. Four minutes were allowed per case. Again this year Carestream was the only supplier that was able to process all the cases on its fully featured PACS workstation—all the other participants required specialized 3D workstations to handle these cases.

Radiologist Michalle Soudack, M.D., Head of Pediatric Radiology at the Safra Children’s Hospital in Israel, presented the cases for Carestream during the event. “MR and CT exams are an integral part of the radiology workflow. Being able to use a PACS workstation with embedded 3D tools to view complex oncology and cardiac cases is another example of the compelling advantages offered by Carestream’s PACS workstation,” Soudack said.

Carestream was one of the first companies to have advanced 3D processing and image analysis tools built into its Vue PACS workstation, with native reporting via digital dictation or voice recognition. Advanced processing capabilities of the CARESTREAM PACS platform include: real-time 3D vessel analysis including automatic abdominal and cardiac vessel segmentation capabilities; automatic registration of volumetric exams including MPR, MIP and MinIP; cardiac exam review; PET-CT reading tools; orthopedic surgical planning; virtual colonoscopy reading and mammography-specific reading tools.